Terms and Conditions

Ayamatch is a Christian faith-based dating and relationship platform for marriage-minded adults. Members may choose to share their denomination, faith practices and values, and to use those details to find compatible connections through features such as the Alignment Compass questionnaire, Honor Badge verification, and the Temple, Courtship and Committed relationship journey. Matching by faith and denomination is a feature members choose to use; it is not a statement that any one denomination is better than another.

Ayamatch does not endorse any particular denomination, church, doctrine or member. Nothing on the App is pastoral, spiritual, legal, medical or psychological advice, except for sessions you book and attend under Section 8 (Aya Pro), which are subject to the limits described there.

Before you can use the App, you will need to register for an account (an Account). In order to create an Account you must:

• (a) be at least 22 years old and have the legal capacity to enter into a binding contract under Nigerian law;
• (b) be legally permitted to use the App under the laws of Nigeria (the App is currently offered to individuals in Nigeria only);
• (c) provide accurate, current and complete information when you register, and keep it up to date; and
• (d) not have been previously blocked or removed from Ayamatch.

Please note that we monitor for underage use. We will terminate, suspend or ask you to verify your Account if we have reason to believe you may be under the minimum age.

You create an Account by registering with your name, email address, phone number and date of birth, and by confirming a one-time passcode we send to you. By registering, you confirm that your date of birth is correct. For more information about what information we collect and how we use it, please read our Privacy Policy.

You may hold only one Account. Unfortunately, we cannot allow you to use another person’s Ayamatch Account or to share your Account with any other person. You are responsible for keeping your login details secure and for making sure that any use of your Account complies with these Terms.

You may not access, tamper with or use non-public areas of the App or our systems. Certain parts of the App may not be accessible if you have not registered for an Account.

If you feel the need to leave, you can delete your Account at any time by going to “Settings” while logged in and following the “Delete account” instructions. Please note that uninstalling or deleting the app from your device does not delete your Account. Your Account will be removed in line with our Privacy Policy, which also explains the short period during which you may restore a deleted Account and how long different types of information are kept. Deleting your Account does not cancel a subscription bought through a Third-Party Store (see Section 6).

It may take a little while for Your Content (defined in Section 2) to be completely removed from the App and our systems. Your profile information will be treated in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

We use a combination of automated systems, member Call Outs and a team of moderators (including a specialised third-party moderation tool) to monitor and review Accounts and content for breaches of these Terms. We may take action against an Account or content, restrict access to the App, or use any operational, technological, legal or other means to enforce these Terms (including blocking specific IP addresses or devices).

Unless prohibited by mandatory law, we expressly reserve the right to suspend or terminate your Account, or remove your content, (1) for violating these Terms or our Community Guidelines, (2) because of your conduct on the App or towards other members, including conduct that happens “offline”, if we reasonably determine it was inappropriate or improper, or (3) for any other reason that we reasonably consider justifies it. Where we act against your Account or Your Content, we will generally tell you and give a reason, unless it is not appropriate to do so (for example, where we are not permitted to by law enforcement, or where notice would put someone at risk or help someone avoid a safety control).

If your Account is terminated or suspended for a breach of these Terms, you will not receive a refund for any paid service or feature you have already been charged for, except where the law requires one. If you think we have made a mistake, you can appeal as described in Section 4 (“Appeals”).

There are three types of content that you will be able to access on the App:

• (a) content that you upload and provide (Your Content);
• (b) content that members provide (Member Content); and
• (c) content that Ayamatch provides, including database(s) and software (Our Content).

Our Community Guidelines form part of these Terms and set out what content and conduct is accepted on and off the App. You agree to comply with the Community Guidelines as updated from time to time.

We want members to express themselves as freely as possible, but we have to restrict content which:

• is illegal under Nigerian law or encourages, promotes or incites any illegal activity;
• is harmful to minors, or sexualises or endangers children in any way;
• is defamatory;
• itself, or the posting of which, infringes any third party’s rights (including intellectual property and privacy rights);
• shows another person and was created or shared without that person’s consent;
• contains language or imagery likely to harass, upset, embarrass, alarm or annoy any other person;
• is obscene, pornographic, violent or otherwise offends human dignity;
• is abusive, insulting, threatening or discriminatory, or promotes or encourages hatred or bigotry, including against any person because of their ethnicity, gender, denomination or religion;
• relates to commercial activities (including sales, competitions, advertising, links to other websites or premium-rate telephone numbers);
• involves the transmission of “junk” mail or “spam”;
• impersonates, deceives or manipulates a person (including scams, romance fraud and inauthentic behaviour);
• contains spyware, adware, viruses, corrupt files, worms or other malicious code designed to interrupt, damage or limit the functionality of, or wrongly intercept data from, any software, hardware, network, server or equipment, whether belonging to Ayamatch or anyone else; or
• in any other way violates our Community Guidelines.

You agree that Your Content must comply with our Community Guidelines as updated from time to time. Because Your Content is yours, you are responsible and liable for it. You will indemnify, defend and hold us harmless from claims made in connection with Your Content, as set out in Section 12. In short, you are what you post.

You may not display any personal contact or banking information on your profile, whether about yourself or another person (for example names, home addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, URLs, or card or bank account details). If you choose to share personal information with other members, whether by message, email or otherwise, you do so at your own risk. We encourage you to take the same care when sharing details about yourself online as you would anywhere else.

Ayamatch is a community, and Your Content will be visible to other members of the App, and to any person who is sent a link to your profile or shared content. By uploading Your Content, you confirm that you hold all necessary rights and permissions to do so, and you grant Ayamatch a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, transferable and sub-licensable licence to use Your Content (including to edit, copy, modify, adapt, translate, reformat, host, display and distribute it, in whole or in part, in any format or medium) for as long as it remains on the App, and afterwards only for as long as reasonably necessary for backups, safety and moderation records, dispute resolution and compliance with the law. We may assign or sub-license this licence to our affiliates, service providers and successors without further approval from you.

We have no obligation to store Your Content. If it is important to you, you should keep a copy.

So that we can prevent the unauthorised use of Your Content by other members or third parties outside Ayamatch, you authorise us to act on your behalf in relation to such infringing or unauthorised uses. This includes the authority, but not the obligation, to send takedown notices on your behalf (including under the Copyright Act 2022 or equivalent laws elsewhere) if Your Content is taken and used by third parties outside Ayamatch.

Other members share content through the App. Member Content belongs to the member who posted it and is stored on our servers and displayed through the App at that member’s direction.

You have no rights in other members’ Member Content, and you may only use other members’ personal information to the extent that your use matches Ayamatch’s purpose of allowing people to meet one another. You may not use other members’ information for commercial purposes, to spam, harass or stalk them, or to make unlawful threats. We may terminate your Account if you misuse other members’ information. If you have a complaint about Member Content, including a copyright complaint, please see Section 13.

Everything else on the App belongs to us. Any other text, content, graphics, user interfaces, trademarks, logos, sounds, artwork and other intellectual property appearing on the App, as well as the Ayamatch software and database(s), are owned, controlled or licensed by us and are protected by copyright, trademark, database and other intellectual property rights. All right, title and interest in Our Content stays with us at all times.

We grant you a non-exclusive, limited, personal, non-transferable, revocable licence to access and use Our Content, without the right to sub-license, on these conditions:

• (a) you will not use, sell, modify or distribute Our Content except as permitted by the functionality of the App;
• (b) you will not use our name in metatags, keywords or hidden text;
• (c) you will not create derivative works from Our Content or scrape, disable, decompile, analyse or commercially exploit Our Content in whole or in part; and
• (d) you will use Our Content for lawful purposes only.

We reserve all other rights.

We do not assume any obligation to pre-screen Your Content or Member Content. However, there may be times when we need to step in to keep members safe, and we reserve the right to review, pre-screen, refuse or remove any Member Content and Your Content, including content exchanged between members in direct messages, as set out in these Terms and our Privacy Policy.

We have developed the Alignment Compass matching algorithm to predict your compatibility with other members, so that we can show you people we think are a good match for you. You can learn more about our use of recommender systems and the main parameters we use in our Privacy Policy.

• comply with all applicable laws, including privacy, intellectual property, anti-spam, cybercrime and consumer-protection laws and regulatory requirements;
• use your real name and real age when creating your Account and on your profile; and
• use the App in a safe, inclusive and respectful manner and follow our Community Guidelines at all times.

• act in an unlawful or disrespectful manner, including being dishonest, abusive or discriminatory;
• misrepresent your identity, age, denomination, marital status, current or previous positions, qualifications, or affiliations with a person or entity;
• disclose information that you do not have consent to disclose;
• stalk or harass any other member of the App;
• use the App in any deceptive, inauthentic or manipulative way, including conduct or content relating to scams, romance fraud, spam, inauthentic profiles, or commercial and promotional activity;
• submit Call Outs, appeals, notices or complaints that are manifestly unfounded, false, or made for malicious or biased reasons; or
• develop, support or use software, devices, scripts, robots, crawlers, browser plug-ins, add-ons or any other technology or process to scrape or otherwise extract data from Ayamatch or its services, or to copy profiles or other data from the services.

We don’t like members misbehaving in the Ayamatch community. You can report abuse or complain about Member Content by contacting us at hello@ayamatch.com, and you can also use “Call Out” directly from a profile or in a chat, or “Block” a member, from within the App. We reserve the right to investigate any possible violation of these Terms or of any member’s or third party’s rights, and we may, acting reasonably, immediately terminate any member’s right to use the App and/or remove any improper, infringing or unauthorised Member Content, as set out in Section 1.

We don’t control what our members say or do, so you are solely responsible for your interactions with other members, both on and off the App. Please take sensible precautions when meeting anyone in person, such as meeting in a public place and telling a friend or family member where you will be.

Ayamatch does not routinely run criminal background checks on its members, and you should not assume that any member has been screened. Our identity checks (such as the Honor Badge, described in Section 4) confirm that a person matches a government-issued identity document. They are not criminal-record checks and do not say anything about a member’s character, intentions or past.

In some circumstances, such as in response to a credible Call Out or credible reports of serious misconduct, Ayamatch may, but is not obliged to, take reasonable and lawful steps to look into a member’s conduct, which may include checking publicly available information, and may block that member from using the App. Any such review is not foolproof, is not typically repeated, and may give a false sense of security. Many records are not publicly available or are out of date, and records from other countries may not be covered. Nothing we do is a perfect safety solution.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you release Ayamatch, its directors, officers, employees and successors from any claims, demands, losses, damages, rights and actions of any kind that directly or indirectly arise from your interactions with, or the conduct of, other members, whether on or off the App. This release does not apply to any claim arising from Ayamatch’s own fraud, deception, false promise, misrepresentation, or concealment of a material fact in connection with the App, or from Ayamatch’s negligence causing death or personal injury, or to any other liability that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded.

Scraping or replicating any part of the App without our prior written consent is expressly prohibited. This includes by any means (automated or otherwise) other than through our currently available, published interfaces, unless you have been specifically allowed to do so in a separate agreement with us.

To use Ayamatch, you must be at least 22 years old. We monitor for underage use and will terminate, suspend or ask you to verify your Account if we have reason to believe you may be underage.

Every member must verify their identity through our Honor Badge process before they can match or message other members, and we may ask you to verify again at any time to continue using your Account. We may also require you to provide a valid phone number linked to your Account and to verify it at any time. If you do not complete a verification request, you may be unable to register or you may lose access to parts of the App or the whole App. We might ask you to verify your Account:

• To keep Ayamatch safe for everyone: verification helps us make sure Accounts belong to real people, not bots or fake profiles created for scams, catfishing, harassment or other harm, and helps prevent fraud and cybercrime.
• To confirm you are old enough: to enforce our minimum age of 22.
• To protect your Account and personal information: if we detect unusual activity (for example new devices, locations or login methods), we may ask you to verify that it is really you.
• To prevent payment and refund abuse: to help investigate or prevent suspicious payments, chargeback abuse or other fraud linked to an Account.
• To enforce our Terms and Community Guidelines: when content or behaviour is reported to us, we may ask for verification so we can take appropriate action.
• To comply with law and platform rules: where we are required by law, or by our payment or app-store partners’ rules, to verify members.

Honor Badge verification requires a government-issued identity document (NIN, BVN, international passport, driver’s licence or voter’s card) and is carried out through a licensed third-party verification provider. Every verified member receives an Honor Badge on their profile, which shows that the member’s identity has been checked against an official document. It is not an endorsement of the member or of their faith, character or intentions. If you do not want biometric data collected, you can request a manual review instead. Details of how verification data is handled are in our Privacy Policy.

We may also suspend or close your Account where you hold multiple Accounts.

All members must comply with the platform rules described and referenced in our Community Guidelines. If you behave in a way that goes against the Community Guidelines or Ayamatch’s values, or otherwise act in a way we reasonably believe is potentially harmful to Ayamatch or its members, we may take a range of actions on your Account. When deciding on a penalty, we consider a number of factors, such as the seriousness of the conduct, whether it has happened before, and the harm caused.

We may:

• remove the content;
• issue a warning; and/or
• suspend, restrict or ban the member from the App.

When necessary, we may also cooperate with law enforcement to assist in potential criminal investigations related to member conduct.

Your treatment of others outside the App can also result in action against your Account. If we become aware of harm between members on dates, meetups, text messages or other messaging platforms, or of relevant alleged criminal or harmful conduct in your past or outside Ayamatch, we may take action as if it had happened on our platform.

You cannot submit appeals, Call Outs, notices or complaints that are false or made for malicious, biased or other illegitimate reasons.

If you believe we have made a mistake in taking action on your Account or Your Content, you can appeal our decision within six months of the decision. Please start by reading the relevant section of our Community Guidelines. If you still think a mistake was made, email support@ayamatch.com, explain why you are appealing and give as much detail as you can. We will review your appeal and let you know the outcome.

When you use Call Out or Block & Call Out, a member of our support team will review it and take action based on our Community Guidelines, which can include a warning or banning the member from the App. Ayamatch will not tell the person you called out that you did so.

Consent is required at all times. Everyone on Ayamatch is expected to discuss and respect boundaries and never to make assumptions about what someone is comfortable with. Consent can be withdrawn at any time. Sexual contact without consent is against the law and may result in criminal or civil liability under Nigerian law, including the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015.

Safety is a top priority at Ayamatch. We use a combination of in-house manual review and a specialised third-party moderation tool to monitor and review Accounts and interactions for content that may be against our Community Guidelines, against these Terms, or otherwise harmful.

Our members play a critical role in safety by using Call Out to flag content or behaviour that may violate our Community Guidelines. If anything makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, we strongly encourage you to Unmatch with, or Block & Call Out, the member. If you are in immediate danger, please contact the emergency services (in Nigeria, 112).

If you or someone you know needs support, these independent services offer help in Nigeria. Ayamatch does not operate or endorse them, and they are listed for information only:

• Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT): 0800 033 3333
• Federal Government toll-free line for violence against girls and women: 0800 72 73 2255

You can also email hello@ayamatch.com if you need help from Ayamatch with a safety concern.

Ayamatch may offer products and services for purchase on the App, such as Premium Services, Virtual Items and Aya Pro counselling sessions (each an In-App Purchase). If you make an In-App Purchase, you acknowledge and agree that additional terms disclosed to you at the point of purchase may apply and are incorporated into these Terms.

You may pay (a) through a third-party platform such as the Apple App Store or Google Play Store (a Third-Party Store), or (b) directly by card, bank transfer or another method we make available, which is processed by our third-party payment processor, Paystack (each a Payment Method). Once you make an In-App Purchase, you authorise us to charge your chosen Payment Method. If payment is not received, you agree to pay all amounts due promptly on demand.

Prices are shown in the App or on the website at the point of purchase. On the Ayamatch website, prices are shown and charged in Nigerian Naira (₦). On the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, prices are shown and charged in the currency that store displays to you, which may be Naira or US dollars, and may differ from the price on our website because of store fees, exchange rates and taxes.

Ayamatch may offer some services as automatically renewing subscriptions (Premium Services), such as a one-week subscription or a one-month subscription.

If you purchase an automatically renewing subscription, your subscription will renew at the end of each period, unless you cancel, at Ayamatch’s then-current price for that subscription.

To avoid charges for a new subscription period, you must cancel, as described below, before the end of the current period. Deleting your Account or the app from your device does not cancel your subscription. We will give you notice of changes to the price of Premium Services you have subscribed to and an opportunity to cancel. If we change the price and you do not cancel, you agree to be charged the new price.

If you subscribed directly through Ayamatch, you can cancel or change your Payment Method in the payment settings on your profile. If you subscribed through a Third-Party Store, you must go to your account with that store and follow its instructions. If you cancel, you may use your subscription until the end of the period you last paid for, but (i) except as set out under “Refunds” below, you will not receive a pro-rated refund, (ii) your subscription will not renew when that period ends, and (iii) you will then lose access to the Premium Services and In-App Purchases enabled by it.

Because Ayamatch can be used without a subscription, cancelling a subscription does not remove your profile. To fully close your Account, you must delete it as described in Section 1.

Our pricing may vary by region, subscription length, bundle size and promotion. We regularly test new features and payment options. We may, including without prior notice, limit the quantity of or discontinue any product, feature or service; impose conditions on any coupon, discount or promotion; bar any member from making a transaction; and refuse to provide any product or service to any member, in each case to the extent permitted by law.

We may withdraw or cancel an offer made in genuine error, such as one showing an incorrect price. We will always try to show the correct price and, if we make a mistake, we will correct it as quickly as possible. We may correct billing errors even if we have already requested or received payment, and we will refund any amount you were overcharged.

If you sign up for a free trial and do not cancel before it ends, your trial may convert into a paid subscription and your Payment Method will be charged at the then-current price. The paid subscription will then renew automatically until you cancel. To avoid charges, cancel before the end of the free trial as described above. Deleting your Account or the app does not cancel your free trial. If you have previously used a free trial through a Third-Party Store, you may not be eligible for another.

Generally, all charges for purchases are non-refundable, and there are no refunds or credits for partially used periods, except where applicable law requires a refund.

For example, if you delete your Account, any subscription you have purchased will be cancelled immediately, you will lose access to any remaining benefits, and you will not be eligible for a refund. If you create a new Account during the original subscription period, you will not be able to re-access those benefits and will need to purchase a new subscription. If you buy a duplicate subscription, you will not be eligible for a full or partial refund of it. Blocked members are not entitled to refunds.

If you subscribed through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, refunds (where available) are handled by Apple or Google, not by Ayamatch. For all other purchases, contact customer support at hello@ayamatch.com with your order reference and the email address or phone number linked to your Account.

Nothing in this Section limits any right to a refund, repair or replacement that you have under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 or other mandatory law.

Prices include or exclude Value Added Tax (VAT) and any other applicable taxes as shown at the point of purchase. If Ayamatch is legally required to collect any tax from you on your purchases, we will collect it in addition to the price. If any tax is due and has not been collected or remitted, you are responsible for paying it, and any related penalties or interest, to the relevant tax authority.

This Section applies to any dispute or claim of any kind (whether based in contract, tort, statute or any other legal theory) between you and Ayamatch arising out of or relating to these Terms, any earlier version of them, your use of the App, or any other aspect of your relationship with Ayamatch (a “Dispute”).

Before starting any mediation or court proceedings, you and Ayamatch agree to first notify each other of the Dispute in writing and try in good faith to resolve it informally for at least 30 days. Your notice to Ayamatch must be sent by email to legal@ayamatch.com and by post to 17, Fadeyi Street, Olowora, Lagos, Nigeria, and must include your name, the email address and phone number linked to your Ayamatch Account, a description of the Dispute and the outcome you are seeking. Ayamatch’s notice to you will be sent to the email address linked to your Account.

If the Dispute is not resolved within 30 days of the notice, either of us may refer it to mediation before a mediator agreed between us or, if we cannot agree, through the Lagos Multi-Door Courthouse or another recognised mediation body in Lagos. Each side bears its own costs and the mediator’s fees are shared equally, unless the mediator or applicable law provides otherwise. Mediation is non-binding. Unless a mediation has been attempted for at least 30 days, neither side may start court proceedings, except to seek urgent injunctive relief or to protect intellectual property rights.

If a Dispute is not resolved by negotiation and mediation, it may be brought before the courts of Lagos State, Nigeria, in accordance with Section 18. Nothing in this Section stops you from making a complaint to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission or any other competent regulator, or from using any consumer or data-protection remedy that the law does not allow to be waived.

To the fullest extent permitted by Nigerian law, you expressly agree that any legal or administrative proceedings against Ayamatch Technologies Limited must be conducted on an individual basis only. You waive any right to participate as a class representative, class member or representative claimant in any class, collective, consolidated or representative action or proceeding against Ayamatch. This does not prevent a regulator or public authority from bringing proceedings, and does not apply to any form of representative action that cannot lawfully be waived.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any cause of action or claim you may have arising out of or relating to your use of the Ayamatch platform must be formally commenced within one (1) year after the cause of action accrues. A claim not commenced within that period is barred. This does not apply where the law does not allow a shorter period to be agreed, for example for claims for death or personal injury, or fraud.

This Section continues to apply after your relationship with Ayamatch has ended.

These Terms, which we may amend from time to time, together with the Community Guidelines, Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy, are the entire agreement between you and Ayamatch and replace all earlier agreements, representations and arrangements between us (written or oral). Nothing in this clause limits or excludes liability for fraudulent misrepresentation.

Ayamatch has taken reasonable steps to ensure the currency, availability, correctness and completeness of the information on the App, but provides it on an “as is” and “as available” basis and gives no warranty about it, to the extent permitted by law. Ayamatch is not responsible for any loss arising from the transmission or use of data or from inaccurate Member Content.

You are responsible for taking all necessary precautions to make sure that any material you obtain from Ayamatch is free of viruses or other harmful components. You accept that the App may not be uninterrupted or error-free and that defects may not be corrected. Ayamatch is not responsible for any damage to your computer hardware, software or other equipment or technology, including damage from any security breach, virus, bug, tampering, fraud, error, omission, interruption, defect, delay in operation or transmission, or network failure, except where the law does not allow that exclusion.

Communications between you and Ayamatch may take place electronically, whether you use the App, send us emails, or we post notices in the App or email you. For contractual purposes, you (a) consent to receive communications from us in electronic form and (b) agree that all terms, agreements, notices, disclosures and other communications that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that they be in writing, to the extent permitted by Nigerian law. This does not affect your statutory rights.

As Ayamatch grows, we may need to change these Terms, so we reserve the right to modify, amend or change them at any time (a “Change”). We will post Changes on this page and show the effective date at the end of the Terms. For material Changes, we will give you reasonable notice by email or in the App. We may also ask you to agree to a Change, and we will tell you if we do. Please check this page regularly.

Your continued use of Ayamatch after a Change takes effect means you accept it and are bound by the updated Terms. If you do not accept a Change, you should stop using Ayamatch and delete your Account.

If any part of these Terms is declared illegal, invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, then to that extent it will be severed from these Terms, and the rest will remain in full force and effect.

No failure or delay in exercising any right, power or privilege under these Terms operates as a waiver of it or as acceptance of any variation of these Terms, and no single or partial exercise of any right precludes any further exercise of that right or any other right.

You confirm that you are not located in a country or territory subject to comprehensive sanctions or embargoes under Nigerian or applicable international law, and that you are not on any list of prohibited or restricted persons under such laws.

By using the App, you acknowledge that Ayamatch operates through servers and service providers located outside Nigeria, including in the United States. By submitting your personal information, you agree to its transfer to, and storage and processing in, those countries, subject to the safeguards and your rights described in our Privacy Policy and under the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.

The App may contain links to third-party websites or resources. You acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible or liable for (a) their availability or accuracy, or (b) the content, products or services on or available from them. Links do not imply endorsement. Framing, in-line linking or other methods of association with the App are prohibited without our prior written approval.

You may not transfer or assign these Terms or any rights and licences granted under them. We may assign them without restriction, provided this does not reduce your rights under these Terms.

If there is a discrepancy between this English-language version and any translation of these Terms, the English version prevails.

If you have any questions, complaints or claims about the App, please contact us at hello@ayamatch.com.